"Hey, have you seen my pants?"

She stood there, deadpanned, as Stan asked her in his boxers. His top half was wearing the classic Mr. Mystery shirt and coat, all that is missing is his pants. "No," Y/n replied, sipping on the soda. "Where are Dipper and Mabel?"

Stan looked around the kitchen for where his pants could've been misplaced. "The kids are in the room with the wax figures. They have been there since this morning."

Y/n glanced at the clock hung on the wall. She didn't even notice that it's afternoon already. "Oh?" she wondered, "How did they find it?"

"Eh, I have no idea. I even forgot I've been keeping 'em in the Shack!" he replied, marching to the living room. He kept muttering, "Where the heck did my pants go?" under his breath.

"Where did you last put it then?!" Y/n exclaimed, getting tired of him searching.

"I don't remember! That's why I'm looking for it!"

She left him alone by himself. Watching him looking at every crevice for his large pants even got her tired so she went to the room where the twins were.

A shiver ran down her spine as she remembered the faces of those wax figures. It really crept her out and she doesn't even know who these people were.

The door was already open when she arrived at the hall. Soos, Dipper, and Mabel in a beret were standing in front of a wax statue. Y/n took a casual sip of her drink.

"Y/n! There you are," Mabel greeted once she saw her. The girl in the sweater dashed towards her friend and grabbed her wrist before pulling her in front of the statue. "What do you think?"

Y/n's jaw dropped as the contents of her Pitt Cola had escaped her open mouth and to the ground.

"Woah!" Mabel exclaimed. "I guess my work is jaw dropping, huh?"

Stan entered the scene, now with his pants on. "I found my pants but now I'm missing my- woa- ha- AH!" He fell to the ground and scrambled away once he noticed the wax figure that looked a lot like his twin brother.

It's not him, Stan. Calm down.

"So, what'd you think?" Mabel asked Stan.

He had to ease his quickening pulse before responding, "I think... the Wax Museum's back in business!"

***

https://youtu.be/X2DUpDxFJyg

***

All of the people in the Mystery Shack helped transfer all the wax statues outside on a makeshift stage, with banners and chairs already set up.

"Ugh. So creepy," Y/n muttered under her breath as she lifted wax Sherlock Holmes, the last person, to the stand. "Never liked them in the first place."

"In the first place? Have you seen them before?" Mabel said behind her. She must've overheard.

"No. I- I've seen them on TV. I just don't like how hyper-realistic they looked."

Nice save.

"Oh, okay. I think they look cute though!" Mabel replied, holding her hands together with a huge grin. "I hope people will show up."

"I'm sure they will," Y/n reassured, "People will want to be in the reopening of the amazing Wax Museum."

Her sentence was dripping with sarcasm, but Mabel was too much of a sweetheart to notice.

Rest assured, people did come, although Y/n had a feeling that they only came because of "free pizza" that she's sure Stan wouldn't be able to provide.

"You all know me, folks! Town darling, "Mr. Mystery." Please, ladies, control yourselves!" Stan said over the microphone. As you know, I always bring the people of this fair town novelties and befuddlements, the likes of which the world has never known. But enough about me. Behold... me!" He walked towards the clothed statue and uncovered it, revealing a wax replica of himself.

Soos pressed multiple keys on his keyboard, emitting various fanfare sound effects. Two people in the crowd clapped while someone coughed.

"And now a word from our own Mabelangelo!"

"It's Mabel." she grinned, taking the microphone. "Thank you for coming! I made this sculpture with my own two hands! It's covered in my blood, sweat, tears, and other fluids!"

The crowd winced as they expressed their disgust, "Ugh, ew!"

"Hehe. Yeah..." Mabel chuckled. "I will now take questions! You there!" She pointed at the familiar hobo.

Old Man McGucket asked about the eventual wax-man uprising and Mabel wittily provided the answer. Followed by Toby Determined who was shamed by Stan who pointed out that his microphone was a turkey baster.

"Shandra Jimenez, a real reporter." A woman stood up with her cameraman. "Your fliers promised free pizza with admission to this event," she announced before showing said flier, "Is this true?"

The murmurs in the crowds resounded, until it had transformed into chatters of complaint and protests of pizza. Stan quickly exited the scene with his trustworthy smoke bomb and escaped with the box of admission fee in his grabby hands.

Dipper and Wendy sat by the booth where the admission box once lied. They both look concerned and a bit scared, while Y/n just looked out of it. Mabel enthusiastically placed her elbow on the table with a proud smile. "I think that went well."

The sun had set and the moon had risen. Owls were hooting as Stan was spouting old expressions. "Hot pumpkin pie! Look at all this cash!" He said, "Now you kids wash up. We got another long day of fleecing rubes tomorrow. Go, go!" He pushed the twins outside the room before sighing and placing an arm on Wax Stan's shoulder. "Kids."

"You, uh, got something going on there with good 'ol Wax Stan, huh?"

Stan jumped at the sound of her voice and turned around to see her behind the lounge chair. "Sheesh, you almost gave me a heart attack, and hey you should be washin' up, too, kid."

Y/n crossed her arms, ignoring his order. "I know we saw the same thing... with... this guy," she referred to the frozen smile that belonged to the wax figure in the room. "He really looked like you, you know? He could be your twin."

"Oup, no. No, no, no." Stan shook her head. "We're not talking about that. We're here to relax and watch my favorite show, Ducktective," he said grumpily, getting the remote and sitting down with wax Stan standing beside him at a weird angle.

Y/n stared at him switching through the channels. She was about to go back to her room to sleep when he spoke again.

"So, you gonna watch Ducktective or what?"

A hint of a smile appeared on her face. Wordlessly, she took a seat on the ground by Stan's feet just as Ducktective captured the criminal. The show has been their favorite ever since it premiered and they just find peace in watching it together — though they watch it to make fun of it.

Stan laughed at the corny catchphrase from the show. "Stupid duck! Well, I'm gonna use the john." he stood up and stepped away from the two of them. Y/n stood up as well, dusting her clothes. "Guard him while I'm gone, alright?" Stan told her before leaving the room.

She rolled her eyes. "Why does he act like it's a real person?" She took Stan's seat beside the figure. "Sure, he may look like him– a lot but it's not... real."

Y/n reached and slotted her hand around the wax statue's arm and leaned slightly. She chuckled weakly. "Heh, miss you. You're probably gonna be looking like an old man now just like your brother. Meanwhile, I'm still the same thirteen year old me that you left behind.

Might need an explanation once you come back..." Fatigue gradually overtook her. She really shouldn't fall asleep whilst clinging onto Ford- she meant Wax Stan, but she couldn't help but feel comfortable at the moment. She missed this.

She must've been a heavy sleeper because the next thing she heard, Stan screamed, "NOOOOO!"

Y/n scrambled up to her feet and didn't realize what was going on until she saw Wax Stan already on the ground... with its head gone.

The twins ran to the scene, Y/n stood there with a puzzled expression while Stan was shaking grimly. "Wax Stan has been murdered!" he turned to Y/n with a panicked look. "Y/n, what did you do?!"

"Me?! I didn't do anything!" she emphasized. "I fell asleep and the next thing I knew this guy's head was chopped off!"

Mabel fainted dramatically with the back of her head on her forehead. Dipper caught her before saying, "Everybody, calm down. Let's call the cops and see if they can help."

Surely enough, the cops arrived. They questioned the events before said murder, and Stan nervously told his point of view, "The three of us were just watching a show when I went to the bathroom. And when I come back, BLAMO! He's headless!"

"My expert handcrafting besmirched." Mabel kneeled next to Wax Stan's "corpse", carressing it gently. "BESMIRCHED!"

Dipper comforted his sister. "Who would do something like this?"

Blubs drank from his cup of coffee, "Why don't you ask the only person who was present at the scene of crime?"

They all looked at Y/n, who was already looking offended. Dipper frowned. "I don't think Y/n would have done this."

She smiled, grateful that he could trust her. Her happiness shifted to anger as she faced the cops again. "You can't accuse me of murder when you don't even have the evidence!"

"That's true!"

Blubs remained dismissive, "Then unless you don't think that this girl here is guilty, let's face it: this case is unsolvable."

"WHAT?!" Dipper, Mabel, and Stan exclaimed.

Stan pointed an accusatory finger at them. "You take that back, Sheriff Blubs!"

"You're kidding, right?" Dipper said, "You're not even gonna do investigations and search for more evidence?"

"Oh, Dipper can help!" Mabel chimed in, supporting her brother. "He's really good. He figured out who was eating our tin cans!"

"All signs pointed to the goat."

Even Stan wanted Dipper to help, only for the offer to be turned down by both the sheriff and the deputy. They laughed in his face, making fun of Dipper because he was a little kid.

They really shouldn't be underestimating him.

"Adorable. You should leave the investigating to the grownups," was their final words before being called to attend an emergency.

Determined Dipper turned to his sister with a fire like no other. "That's it. Mabel, you and I are going to find the jerk who did this and get back that head! And we'll see who's adorable." he seethed before unconsciously releasing an adorable sneeze that could've been mistaken for a kitten sound.

Y/n will also agree that he's adorable. His sneeze was adorable.

The twins started transforming the living room into what appears to be a crime scene. Mabel was photographing the headless wax figure repeatedly, while Dipper was pinning pictures to his corkboard.

Stan walked out of the room, depressed. Y/n wanted to go console him, but she was stopped by Dipper. "Hey, wait. Y/n."

"What's up?"

"I know that you wouldn't do this, but what happened at the time of murder? What were you doing?"

She was irritated, but she replied truthfully, "I was sleeping. I didn't know what happened. I didn't hear a sound because I was asleep."

"Well, wax Stan lost his head and it's up to us to find it and prove your innocence. Would you like to join us?"

As much as she would like to go be with them, she has to prioritize. And right now, Stan is her first priority. "I don't know," she began. "There's not much room for one more detective, don't you think?"

"But-"

"I'm sure Sherlock Holmes and John Watson will handle it." Yes, she read the books. "The question is, who is Holmes... and who is Watson?" she left without another word.

The twins stared at one another before Mabel smiled. "I'm Sherl-!"

"No," Dipper immediately turned down. "Mabel, focus. We have to solve this case. The murderer could be anyone."

Mabel's eyes widened. "Gasp. Even us!"

"In this town, anything is possible," Dipper muttered, taking out his journal and skimming through it. The book was full of codes and ciphers that he might use to find clues.

"Hey, look, a clue!" Mabel's voice brought him out the pages. She pointed down to the ground they were standing on.

"Footprints in the shag carpet!" Dipper marveled. "It looks like one of the shoes has a hole in it." Their eyes noticed the marks all leading somewhere behind the big, yellow chair.

The twins found an ax just lying there on the ground. This must be the murder weapon!

To clarify, they took the object and delivered it to Soos the handyman. He examined it thoroughly before concluding, "In my opinion... this is an ax."

Mabel suddenly got an idea. "Wait a minute. The lumberjack!"

They began to piece their assumptions together enough to go out and find the aforementioned lumberjack. Soos had told them about the biker bar.

With newfound information, they walked out the Shack in unison. They passed by Stan who was struggling with bringing out a coffin from his car trunk.

"Hey, give me a hand with this coffin, will ya? I'm doing a memorial with wax Stan. Something small, but... classy," he said, giving it all his all until the coffin eventually was pulled out.

Dipper clutched the straps of his duffel bag tighter. "Sorry, Grunkle Stan, but we have a big break in the case!" he emphasized with a clench of his fist.

"Break in the case!"

"We're heading into town to interrogate the murder."

"Oh, well in that case, do me a quick favor and fetch Y/n for me? This coffin is surprisingly heavy."

Mabel sprinted inside the shack, loudly shouting Y/n's name. "Y/n! Stan needs you!"

"I hear ya!"

And that was Mabel's cue to leave and regroup with her brother. "She's coming!"

Stan placed his hands on his waist. "I know this is dangerous and I would honestly forbid you from going if I am a responsible parent... good thing I'm an uncle! Avenge me, kids!

AVENGE ME!"

The kids took off, with Mabel carelessly swinging around the ax that they found. Stan watched them with an almost proud look on his face.

"You said you need me?"

He glanced beside him and it was Y/n, in the flesh. "What took you so long?"

"I was in the bathroom, jeez!"

Stan scoffed playfully. "You're probably performing another album from ABBA in the shower. Not surprised."

"Do you need me or not?" she glared at him.

"Help me carry this thing," he said before lifting up the other end of the box.

Y/n rolled her eyes but went to the opposite end and brought it to her chest anyway. "Put respect to their name. It's Number One All-Time Icelandic Pop Sensation BABBA."

"Right. How could I forget? You always play it in the basement. I swear, the twins might hear the sounds from the attic."

"Oh, shut your yaps and tell me why you need to set up a funeral for this wax statue that reminds you of your twin brother?"

Stan fixed his gaze on Y/n and her direct question. He stopped moving, but she knew he wasn't mad at her for essentially touching a nerve. He exhaled a sigh. "Would you mind letting me do this just once?"

He never said anything else, but she understood. It may look and sound weird, but the intention behind it was deeply saddening. It's like he wanted to do a proper farewell... in case of it being true.

"And, hey, doesn't he look like... your teacher? Your boss? Your-"

"He's my mortal enemy now, Stan," she cut off, a playful grin on her face. They positioned the coffin over two stools. Soos was cleaning the floors.

"Oh," Soos said once he saw the casket. He frowned deeply. "I'll... go and set up the chairs."

Y/n placed her hand on her hips. "Where are the twins anyway?"

"Oh, they're off to find the killer."

"What?"

Soos appeared behind her again. "Yeah, you know, the one who... ch-chopped... Mr. Wax Pines'... head. I heard them say that they're doing it to clear your name."

Her heart leapt at the prospect of them attempting to prove her innocence. She appreciated the effort of going out and probably questioning everyone in town, but she knew. She knew that no human could do this and escape in record time. No human in Gravity Falls, that is.

It was already late at night when the mini podium for Stan was set up. Dipper and Mabel eventually returned home, apparently with nothing to share. Y/n sat beside Mabel, who sat glumly holding an ax.

As Stan regained his composure, Y/n leaned in closer to Mabel and whispered, "Did something happen? Why the long face?"

"We thought we cracked the case and blamed Toby Determined for a crime he didn't even commit," Dipper answered for his sister, sighing. "Those cops were right about me."

Stan cleared his throat loudly and began his eulogy with sad organ music in the background, before Mabel or Y/n could object.

"Kids, Soos, lifeless wax figures... Thank you all for coming."

Soos dramatically blew his nose on a napkin.

"Some people might say it's wrong for a man to love a wax replica of himself."

"They're wrong!" Soos screamed, pointing an accusatory finger.

Stan tried to coax him. "Easy, Soos," he said before turning to wax Stan who lay still on a coffin. Its iconic pose of a thumbs up stuck out. "Wax Stan, I hope you're pickin' pockets in wax heaven."

This made Y/n frown. Stan was visibly upset, and she could tell it wasn't a joke to him. He took off, sniffing despondently. "I'm sorry, I got glitter in my eye!" he exclaimed as he dashed out of the room.

"Dude...!" Soos cried, chasing after Stan as he sobbed also.

Y/n stood up, looking at both Dipper and Mabel. "I have to check on him in case he does something crazy."

She walked away, straight towards the living room, where Stan sat glumly. His glasses were perched on top of his hair, and he rubbed his eyes with his knuckles. Soos stood next to him, attempting to offer him a napkin.

"No, Soos. You need it more than I do," Stan said, sniffling.

She walked into the room. He gave her a quick glance before returning his gaze to the ground. Y/n motioned for Soos to return home, and she'd take care of it. He nodded and walked away, closing the gift shop door behind him.

It was quiet except for Stan's sniffles. Y/n gave him time to let it out. She's seen him cry before– many times now. It makes him the more emotional, empathic person out of the Pines twins.

If you think it's rare to see Stan cry, then it is incredibly anomalous to see even a glimpse of Ford letting out a single tear.

The first time Stan cried was, of course, the first night of his brother's disappearance. She could hear the bawling from her room. He was completely devastated and he always blamed himself.

Every other night for the last thirty years, Stan had grown to be comfortable to be himself around Y/n. Comfortable enough for him to cry a river. She's the only one who understands what he's going through.

She leaned against the doorframe of the living room, staring at a wall painting. Stan was constantly wiping his tears away. "I..." he began, but it got cut off with a sharp exhale. "I just– really, really miss him, you know?"

"Yeah," she replied quietly.

"I don't even know if he's alive out there. What even is out there? On the other side?"

He has asked this exact same question a thousand times, and even though Y/n is vague with her answers every time, it would always end it with, "He's alive."

"I hope."

"I know he's alive," she said. "Sure, there might be aliens and other dimensional lizards and whatnot, but he is the smartest guy in the world. He knows what to do."

Stan kept to himself. Looking down, he ran his thumb across the rim of the glasses he recognized as Ford's. "You know, I'm really glad you're here ."

"Happy to be of service, old man."

They stayed within their comfortable silence.

Meanwhile, the twins faced the sentient wax figures that were all staring them down menacingly. Wax Sherlock Holmes had just recounted their heinous history up to the time of the murder.

"So you were trying to murder Grunkle Stan for real?!"Dipper asked in disbelief.

"And you could've almost killed Y/n, too!" Mabel exclaimed, lifting her forefinger. "You made her look so guilty that the cops almost arrested her!"

"Enough!" Wax Sherlock bellowed, "Now that you know our secret, you must die."

His pupils vanished as his eyeballs rolled. The other wax figures joined him and marched slowly, grunting like zombies.

Dipper and Mabel felt cornered, stepping back from them. "What do we do?!" Mabel panicked.

"I don't know!"

"What the heck is going on here?!"

Everyone came to a halt and looked at the door where Y/n stood. She looked perplexed as she assessed the situation.

"Y/n. watch out!" Mabel screamed, flailing her hands around. "Wax Sherlock Holmes was the real murderer. All of the wax figures are alive!"

Hm. Y/n narrowed her eyes on them. "I've always known you guys were creepy."

Wax Sherlock fumed, "Oh you kids are driving me up the wall. Attack!"

Half of the wax army charged towards the twins, while the rest rushed over to Y/n, who skillfully dodged them before kicking their limbs apart. Wax Thomas Edison yelled out a curse when she punched his head loose and went in a different direction.

"Y/n, use this!" Dipper threw a hot fire iron at her, and she grabbed the handle just as Wax Sherlock brought a sword down on her head. She deflected the blow before swinging her own weapon at him.

The two of them fought their way out of the room, inadvertently leading themselves to the attic, where the fight raged on. Every strike from Y/n was deflected, and Wax Sherlock continued forward until she was pushed up against the wall.

He pointed the sharp blade to her nose. "I know you're still the same little girl you were ten years ago," he said, and it couldn't help but send a shiver down her spine.

Because the fire iron was gradually losing its heat, she realized that killing him with it would be pointless. She looked out the window next to Wax Sherlock, the light reflecting off it.

So she rolled under him and escaped through the window and onto the Shack's roof. Wax Sherlock pursued the girl with the sole intention of murdering her. They fought until she was forced to retreat and stall for more time. He continued to spout more British slang before darting towards her, cornering her once more.

She glanced to her right and saw a twinkle of sunlight.

Wax Sherlock turned to face her, his sword poised above his head, ready to strike. "We all have secrets that we keep hidden, and yours is bound to be revealed; it's just a matter of time!"

"I'll let you in on a little secret: I adore watching the sun rise."

"Watching- what?!" Wax Sherlock shrieked as he realized that this was all a trap.

In his final act, he attempted to swing down, only for Y/n to literally stop the blade with her hand. Wax Sherlock quipped briefly before being knocked to the ground by her kick.

"Any final words?" she asked as she let go of the sword. His lower half was already slipping off the shingles.

"Shut your festering gob, you sniveling- grmmm!"

The rest of him melted into liquid until it all fell down to the ground.

"Gross."

She walked back to the parlor where Stan now stood. "Y/n!" The twins exclaimed. "Are you okay? What happened?"

She shrugged casually, smirking a bit. "Heh, you should see the other guy," she said before making a melting sound and moving slowly.

The twins chuckled at her joke but at the same time, glad that she was alright. "So, do you also want an affectionate noogie from Grunkle Stan?" Dipper asked.

***

"Who?"

"The 'child psycho' Gideon Gleeful," Stan told Y/n, getting the both of them Pitt colas. They were working so hard with the portal, tackling the parts for it. She didn't remember who brought in cards, but the next thing they did was play poker all night. She didn't remember who was in the lead either.

"What about him?"

Stan grumbled. "You know the monster's been terrorizing me ever since he rolled into town, and now the kids are checking out the competition with his so-called 'Tent of Telepathy'," he said the last part in exaggerated quotes.

"Woah, calm down," she said, coaxing him, "Maybe they're just seeing if it's the real thing. We all know he's a sham."

He sighed. "You're right." He took a sip of his can before retreating to his office. "I'll be in here in case you need me."

"Don't worry, buddy. You just relax," Y/n answered back.

Just as Stan left the room, the back door opened and the twins entered. "Y/n! Where have you been!?"

"Sorry, I... overslept," she trailed off, "But, hey! You're back. How was the trip?"

"Oh, Y/n, you should have seen it!" Mabel gushed, rushing towards her. "Gideon was the cutest! He had this little cape and sang in rhymes! He even guessed my name! He truly is a child psychic."

Y/n and Dipper exchanged glances. "Is that so..." she hummed, looking at Mabel's sweater with the letters M A B E L sewn into it. "He must've been really entertaining."

"She is easily impressed," Dipper pointed out, crossing his arms before walking to the kitchen.

Before going to the table by the living room, Y/n went to the fridge and got another can of cola. The boy took a glass of water and sat in the other chair at the far end of the table.

The two sat in comfortable silence until Mabel came back with sparkly gems plastered on her entire face, from her eyelids to the inside of her mouth. "Check it out, guys! I successfully bedazzled my face!" She struggled to even manage a single blink with the jewels stuck.

"That was quick."

"Is that... permanent?" Dipper asked.

Mabel frowned. "I'm unappreciated in my time."

Someone knocked on the door and the three looked at one another. "Somebody answer that door!" Stan shouted from the other room.

"I'll get it!" Mabel yelled back, easily scrubbing off the colorful stones and heading to the door.

It turned out to be Gideon on the other side, asking Mabel on a tour of his dressing room. The two hung out and played make-ups until afternoon. Later, Gideon invited her once again to come and sightsee the entire town from the roof of his warehouse. They even brought their own pair of opera glasses.

She just didn't think Gideon would ask her out on a real date. She had a good time with him, but she never liked him in that way. Mabel thought this kid was creepy as he drew her into a hug and unabashedly sniffed her hair.

The next day, she and Dipper were playing video games when the doorbell rang again. Mabel replied, opening it to reveal the head of a horse peering inside. Gideon sat atop the horse, wearing a cowboy hat and a sickening grin.

And they were off to some probably expensive restaurant that Gideon bribed the staff into doing everything he asked.

"Hey!" Stan exclaimed that morning, getting the attention of Dipper, Wendy, and Soos. "What the jackal is Mabel doing in the paper next to that greasy pickpocket Gideon?" he aggressively pointed at the large picture in the first page of the newspaper.

Wendy and Soos were excited about it, Stan was exasperated, while Dipper was a little scared of him right now. Y/n was nowhere to be found.

Stan went out as well to deal with the whole 'dating grandniece' situation. The three were left to themselves, until they had to go and do their own thing.

Dipper went back inside the living room to do some reading. He was already in the ghost section when he felt someone enter the room.

"Oh, hey, Dipper."

He looked up and saw Y/n with a cup of coffee this time. "Y/n! Hi."

She sighed and yawned. Even though she had only slept for 30 minutes, she felt a surge of rage in her veins when she saw the Journal 3 in his hands. "What are you reading?" she asked, sitting across from him in the chair. They had always sat at this table, sometimes in different seats, but their conversation was always about the journal.

"Oh, I'm just trying to catch on to some ghost categories. Can't believe there's 10! The author must've experienced all of them!"

How'd you think he would write all of that down if he didn't go through them?! I was there with him.

Y/n didn't realize she was glaring at Dipper, but she rationalized it as her being insane from lack of sleep. So she slurped the coffee silently but angrily.

"Are you okay? Looks like you stayed up all night."

She couldn't tell him that she had spent the entire morning attempting to stabilize the energy distribution of the Shack and the portal. Energy was required for the portal to remain idle, while electricity was required for the house.

"Just like you, I was also trying to catch on some... reading," Y/n replied once she had her thoughts together. "Quantum Physics."

"You're already studying in summer? What?" Dipper was grinning from ear to ear. "What grade are you in?"

Grade? She didn't know what that term meant.

"Huh?"

The employee door opened from the gift shop, and Mabel appeared gloomy as she carried a lobster past the two of them.

"Hey!" Dipper called, his smile never left his face albeit being slightly confused from Y/n's response. "How did it go?"

"I don't know. I have a lobster now," Mabel said slowly.

Y/n placed her head on her propped hand. "Well, at least it's over and you will never have to go out with him again."

But Mabel didn't say anything. She was anxiously tapping on the glass box with the idle lobster.

"Mabel?" Dipper asked after a brief moment. "It's over, right? ...Mabel?"

"BLARGH!" The twin sister flailed her arms around in a panic. "He asked me out again and I didn't know how to say no!"

Dipper furrowed his brows. "Like this: no!" he enunciated, pointing at his mouth.

"It's not that easy, Dipper!" Mabel reasoned, "And I do like Gideon... as a friend slash little sister! So I didn't want to hurt his feelings!" She smacked her fist onto the table between the two. "I just need to get things back the way they used to be, you know? Friends!"

Unfortunately, Mabel's plan did not go as planned. Her heart seemed to always win in every situation, which she disliked. She disliked Gideon's advances on her and her inability to say no. She liked Gideon, but not in the way he desired.

So, the moment she got home, she was pacing all over the living room, weighing her options. He's just too nice but she can't keep doing this! – but she can't break his heart! There's no way out of this!

Dipper's voice jolted her out of her reverie. She was terrified of her upcoming date with Gideon. Dipper reassured her that it wouldn't come to marriage, until Stan stormed in with a TEAM GIDEON sign on his shirt, declaring that Mabel must marry the twerp.

Y/n entered the room with her favorite Pitt cola in hand. She stared disapprovingly at Stan. "What?" he asked. "Bodies change."

The boy twin found his sister in a place she dubbed, 'Sweater Town'-- where she just pulls her knees to her chest and wraps her huge sweater around her until she is completely covered.

Dipper has had his fill. If Mabel does not want to end her relationship with Gideon, he will. Mabel, of course, was overjoyed at her brother's offer.

He entered the restaurant where Gideon was allegedly waiting for his sister. He couldn't believe this little charlatan would basically force Mabel to date him. He's been behaving strangely since he saw him on stage.

Gideon was initially polite to Dipper, though he was perplexed by his appearance. Gideon's eye twitched when Dipper told him Mabel didn't want to see him again, but he still wore a sickening grin.

"You're not gonna- like, freak out or whatever?"

Bygones be bygones, he said. Dipper took it in stride and walked out. He didn't look like he was angry, so he thought that he'd understood.

But Gideon's gaze remained fixed on Dipper as he walked out of the restaurant. He suddenly felt a surge of rage coursing through his veins. How dare he put himself between him and Mabel? He has no authority to intervene! Gideon and Mabel were supposed to rule the town together as king and queen!

Dipper just made the biggest mistake of his life.

The next day, everything seemed to be back to normal. The twins were having fun with Soos outside the Shack, doing random shenanigans until the phone rang from the gift shop.

"Your turn," Mabel said first, beating Dipper to it – which means, he has to go and deal with whoever was on the phone.

Dipper had no idea it would be Toby Determined, the lamest guy ever, who was suddenly interested in interviewing him about the 'unusual' things going on in town.

Dipper's excitement overtook his worry, and he quickly scribbled the address Toby provided on the notepad from his pocket. He was about to leave the gift shop and continue on his way when he noticed Y/n out of the corner of his eye.

"Y/n, hey!"

She turned around, trying to look casual after having heard of the telephone conversation. In her defense, it was a total coincidence that she walked into the gift shop from the living room and... stayed until the end of the call.

"Dipper," she answered. "What's up?"

Wendy and Soos gave her that greeting. What does she know about interacting when she's been cooped up in the basement for the past 30 years? Stan is mostly responsible for grocery shopping and going outside.

Dipper told her about Toby Determined and wanting to interview him with the address already etched in the paper.. "So, what I'm saying is," he began, "do you wanna come with me? We found this journal together, so I figured I shouldn't take the credit alone."

Her heart skipped a beat not only because of the thoughtful offer, but also because of the heavy anxiety. She took a look at the journal he had brought out. Knowing the journal was with Dipper - within her arms reach - calmed her a little, but she couldn't help but think about the risk of revealing the journal's secrets to anyone else, let alone someone like Toby Determined.

So she had to go with him. Just to make sure that he doesn't do anything stupid.

"Sure," she finally said, smiling. Dipper returned the smile, and the two proceeded to the cleared path in the forest to the address. Because the Shack is located at 618 Gopher Road, it took some time to locate 412. It appeared to be an abandoned warehouse on a cliff.

Y/n and Dipper exchanged uncertain glances before hiking up the hill to the main door. Dipper opened it to reveal a dark room full of shelves and unused cardboard boxes.

"Hello?" Dipper's voice echoed through the confines of the warehouse.

Y/n furrowed her eyebrows, confused with the silence. Someone was supposed to meet them there, but apparently no one came. "Let's just get out of here. Maybe it was a prank call."

"Yeah. Maybe you're right."

The two were about to leave when the door unexpectedly shut. Dipper jumped and tried unsuccessfully to open the door. He knocked, expecting someone to close the door on them as a joke, but no one answered. Panic gripped their chests.

A row of lights illuminated the warehouse until it reached the far end, revealing an office chair.

The seated turned around to see Gideon, who was petting his puppet version of himself like a supervillain. He had a menacing grin on his face. "Dipper Pines... oh, and you brought Y/n, too. Isn't that just swell?"

"Gideon?" The boy beside her rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"How long have you been living in this town, a week? Or two? You like it here?" Gideon inquired, innocently fidgeting with the stuffed toy.

Dipper crossed his arms. "What do you want from me, man?"

"Listen carefully, boy," he said slowly, "this town has secrets you couldn't even begin to comprehend."

"Is this about Mabel?" Dipper asked. "I told you she's not into you!"

"LIAR! You turned her against me!" Gideon stood from his chair and marched towards the two of them. "She was my pink dumplin'!" He grasped his bolo tie with a hard look on his face.

Dipper had the nerve to be concerned, "Are you okay, man?"

Gideon raised his hand, and the two of them were surrounded by a blue aura. They quickly realized that their feet were no longer touching the ground. Dipper panicked slightly, whereas Y/n felt dread mixed with familiarity.

When Gideon made a motion with his hand, the two were launched into the air. They landed in a heap of cardboard boxes containing his merchandise.

"Wha-what? But I- I thought he's a fake!" Dipper stuttered.

"Oh tell me, boy! Is this fake?" His hand on his bolo tie again, he lifted the other and the stuff around them were floating.

Y/n was staring at Gideon's closed fist. It can't be.

Gideon laughed maniacally as he directed the floating clocks towards Dipper. Dipper was the most targeted of the two, so he had to avoid the most hazards. Y/n stepped to the side, conjuring up some sort of plan. If only there was some kind of distraction so she could retrieve the mystical amulet.

So that's why his hair was unnaturally white.

Dipper jumped away from the tumbling shelf, rolling until his back hit the wall. He stroked his head, which he was certain was developing a lump. "Grunkle Stan was right about you, you are a monster!"

"Your sister will be mine!" Gideon's laughter was cut short when a pair of arms wrapped around his neck from behind. He screamed and flailed his arms around, attempting to punch Y/n but failing. "No! Let go of me!" He screeched, but she didn't falter, only squeezing tighter.

"Dipper, get the amulet!" She feared that once she let go of her other hand and reached for the necklace, Gideon would have the chance to unhand himself and use the magic against her.

Dipper stood up and ran towards the two of them. Gideon was still writhing under her grasp, sweating like a pig now. Dipper had a small triumphant smile on his face as his hand inched closer to the amulet, until-

"Guys?"

The three looked over to see Mabel by the opened door.

"What's happening?"

It was silent. No one really knew how to start at explaining the whole situation.

But Gideon quickly recovered, elbowing Y/n in the face—which didn't hurt, but caught her off guard—causing her to loosen her grip, and that's when Gideon took the chance, holding his bolo tie again and lifting his other hand, sending both Y/n and Dipper afloat. So much for a diversion, she reasoned.

"Gideon! What are you doing?!" Mabel exclaimed, panic settling in her features.

"Marshmella, I want to apologize for my behavior, but these two have come between our sweet relationship! Don't you want to get rid of them?"

"Heck no! I'm sorry, Gideon, but I can't be your marshmallow. I needed to be honest and finally tell you that myself," Mabel replied.

Gideon furrowed his brows. "I... I don't understand," he said, clutching the amulet tightly, with the gesture and his growing frustration, it made it so that he was choking both Dipper and Y/n while they were still afloat.

Dipper thrashed around in an attempt to relieve the pain in his throat. Y/n imitated the action, attempting to persuade herself that she, too, is in pain.

She yanked the glowing amulet from his suit as quickly as she could. "No!" Y/n and Dipper both fell to the ground, their magic practically unused. "You were like attacking my brother and my friend!What the heck?!"

"My tie! Give it back!"

He tried to reach it, but Mabel tossed it to Dipper.

"Ha!" Dipper caught it. "Not so powerful without this, are you?"

Gideon screamed and charged at Dipper, making him drop the amulet and breaking through the window.

"Dipper!" Mabel yelled. Y/n glanced at the amulet on the ground and wasted no time going for it. She picked it up, grabbing it tightly, and harnessed its powers. It was the same feeling when she held it the first time. With her mind, she thought about floating and instantly she was.

Mabel was astounded. She levitated as Y/n raised her hand with the amulet. She rushed the two of them outside the broken window and, with no time to waste, gestured her other hand up to stop Gideon and Dipper's horrific fall. The two stared up at them until Y/n and Mabel gracefully descended.

"Listen, Gideon," Mabel began once her feet landed, "It's over. I will never ever date you."

Y/n, too, put her feet on the ground, eventually letting go of the magic before it could affect her again. After all, the white streaks were still visible beneath her natural hair. She gave Mabel the amulet, knowing exactly what she wanted to do with it, and Mabel delivered, throwing it to the ground and breaking it.

"My powers!" Gideon exclaimed. "Oh this isn't over. This isn't the last you'll see of wittle... ol'... me," he said before walking back to the dark forest.

The twins looked at each other, both weirded out, before they turned around and made their way home. Meanwhile, Y/n stared at the broken pieces of the mystical amulet.

"'Buried deep underground where nobody can find it,'" she muttered under her breath. Ford was a terrible liar.

***

CONTINUES IN CHAPTER 10!

kimmiepines
originally published: october 8, 2022
7056 words

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